Biogasoline Breakthrough: Virent and Shell's Joint Venture Produces First Biofuel Demonstrator Plant

Strategic Insights -

Virent Energy Systems, Inc., and Shell announced the successful start of production at the world's first demonstration plant converting plant sugars into gasoline and gasoline blend components. Located at Virent's facilities in Madison, Wisconsin, the plant has a capacity to produce up to 38,000 litres (10,000 U.S. gallons) per year. This innovative biofuel can be blended with gasoline in high concentrations and has the potential to eliminate the need for specialized infrastructure and engine modifications.

Key Takeaways:

  • The demonstration plant is the latest step in a joint biogasoline research and development effort between Virent and Shell, announced in March 2008.
  • The new biofuel has the potential to replace ethanol in gasoline blends, reducing the need for specialized infrastructure and engine modifications.
  • Virent's patented BioForming platform technology uses catalysts to convert plant sugars into hydrocarbon molecules, delivering a higher energy content than ethanol and better fuel economy.
  • The demonstration plant is currently using beet sugar, with the potential to source sugars from non-food feedstocks like corn stover, wheat straw, and sugarcane pulp.
  • Collaboration with Royal Dutch Shell and other partners is focused on delivering material solutions to global challenges in energy security, environment sustainability, and job creation.
  • Virent's BioForming process is a leading technology for producing fungible advanced biofuels, including renewable biogasoline, diesel, and jet fuel.

Statistics:

  • The demonstration plant has a capacity to produce up to 38,000 litres (10,000 U.S. gallons) per year.
  • Virent has won numerous technology and innovation awards, including the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge and the World Economic Forum's Technology Pioneer awards.
  • Virent has 80 employees in its world-class catalytic biorefining development facility in Madison, WI.
  • Royal Dutch Shell is listed on the London, Amsterdam, and New York stock exchanges and has operations in more than 100 countries and territories.

Sources:

  • Virent Energy Systems, Inc., press release, "Virent and Shell Announce Successful Start of Production at Biogasoline Demonstrator Plant" (no date provided)
  • Shell website, "Shell and Virent Progress on Biogasoline" (accessed 2010)
  • Energy Weekly News, "Virent Energy Systems, Inc. and Shell Announce World's First Demonstration Plant Converting Plant Sugars to Gasoline" (Copyright 2010, Energy Weekly News via VerticalNews.com)